Troublesome Timing Outtakes
by FrozenLights
Summary: Outtakes from 'Troublesome Timing'. ...read at your own peril.
1. Slippers

**A/N:** Screw it. I might get around to reorganizing this in chronological order, but then it'd never come out. There are two types of outtakes that I'm going to dump in here: utter crack & stuff that might have happened. These are all unbeta'd; quality and length will vary. (I blame you **ITACHIROCKS**, for giving me the courage to even put this nonsense up here).

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**Outtake 1.  
Type: **Total Crack**  
Context: **Chapter 3, Shattering

"…To have strength, means you become isolated and arrogant."

Kazuki furrowed his brows. After glancing sleepily around to make sure his father wasn't around to reprimand him for the breach in manners, he stuck his pinky in his ear and twisted. That sounded like Itachi, but he was pretty sure he hadn't heard those words right.

Frowning, he padded towards the veranda and the voices even as he rubbed at his eyes.

"Although at first, you only sought for what you dreamed…"

He squinted, feeling his mood drop as uneasy suspicion uncurled in his chest. Something wasn't right with those words. He crouched down, searching for the outdoor slippers in the cabinet.

"Well… we're just unique siblings."

With his hand on the screen door handle, Kazuki paused at those words. Had something happened? Why had Itachi cut off his words like that? Pressing his lips together – _it was way too early for this_ –, he slid open the door as Itachi continued talking.

"To overcome your barriers, you and I have to continue living together."

He didn't care if it was almost noon. Introspective reflection about the grim reality of shinobi life or whatever the crap Itachi was talking about was far different that the type of reflection he had while watching the clouds. It's not like –

"Even if it means hating each other – "

_No. _

"That's what being an elder brother means."

He spoke without meaning to, "That's bull crap."

_How could he?_ After all this time, running around – _What had happened? _How had things already progressed this far? Itachi was already turning to face him, concern written in the twist of his thin brows.

Childishly, he flung the slipper in his hand straight at his brother. Amidst his frustrated anger, he felt a twinge of surprise that his brother hadn't dodged. The slipper left a faint dust mark in the center of Itachi's chest.

"Kazuki - "

Just to be thorough, he flung the other slipper in his hand at Itachi's face.

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**A/N Cont:** I never said whether or not the last slipper hit.

Actually, there had been another version of this that was in the original chapter under an "omake" heading that some of you guys might have seen. I remember going back and deleting it, because I thought nobody would want to read a random scene…and then ITACHIROCKS reviewed. Unfortunately, I had already saved over my original copy of that chapter… so you guys get this. :shrugs:


	2. He takes so much looking after

**Outtake 2.  
Type: **Total Crack**  
Context: **Chapter 9, Eddies; mild reference to conversation in the rain from Chapter 1: Clarion Dreams

About to chase away whatever creature was watching him, Kazuki paused and lowered the shuriken he held. Narrowing his eyes, he carefully approached the bushes. He could see it now.

Just like he had expected, a small black cat sat back on its haunches, staring back at him with large eyes.

_That's not going to work on me. _

He saw it, the subtle arch in the back that always accompanied the flight away. Before the cat could flee, he formed the rat seal. Ignoring the twinge in his shoulder, he used his shadows to hold the cat still as he approached.

With grim satisfaction he sat down and simply stared at the cat.

He had just the thing.

Pulling out his pockets, however, revealed only the parts of a dissembled pen he had used earlier that day to escape the hospital.

He looked at his shoulder, gave a one shouldered shrug and started to unravel part of the bandage. It wasn't like he needed that many bandages anyway.

Using a kunai to tear of a piece, he carefully stretched out the bandage and hurriedly wrote out his message with the ink cartridge. Feeling sweat start to bead on his forehead, he knotted the fabric and stretched it over the cat's head so that it would form a loose collar.

"Take that to Itachi would you?" Taking a large step back, he released his hold on the cat's shadows.

With one last baleful glare, the cat quickly disappeared.

-0-

Itachi reached out curiously as the kitten walked up daintily with a scrap of fabric in his mouth. Once he had taken the fabric, the feline promptly plopped his hindquarters down and began to wash his paw.

For some reason, Itachi could almost sense the anticipation that hung around the creature.

Giving one last look askance at the cat, Itachi spread out the message.

**Seriously?**

**I'm the least qualified babysitter.**

**We've been over this.**

**Worst birthday gift ever. **

**Get your ass back home.**

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**A/N Cont:** heh. For entertainments sake, if you were in Kazuki's position, and could say whatever the hell you wanted to Itachi (ignoring anything that might make him concerned blablabla), what would you say?


	3. Cooking

**A/N:** Huh, I'm surprised people were seriously interested in this. Anyway, this had been dancing in my head in a while since I wrote the massacre. I don't think it's really going to fit in anywhere in the story, so here it is.

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**Outtake 3**  
**Type: **Might have happened  
**Context:** Chapter 10: Building Bridges/11: Reach

Kazuki stared in horrified amazement, "You're almost as bad as Naruto."

Turning around from the counter, Sasuke did a double take, as if to make sure that his twin was actually talking to him. Seeing the direction of Kazuki's gaze, he flushed and squawked indignantly, "I'm what?! No I'm not!"

Kazuki simply frowned and lumbered forward from where he had been leaning against the wall, causing Sasuke to start protesting, "What are you doing?! I got this-go play with your strings if you're so bored."

"Yea, yea, scoots," Kazuki ordered as he purposefully shouldered his twin aside with his bad shoulder. Immediately, Sasuke jumped off the stepping stool and backed away grudgingly, but not before grabbing a spoonful of the fried rice he had been making. Placing both elbows on the countertops, he protested, "This is just fine-bleagh!"

Kazuki resisted the urge to laugh as Sasuke had shoved the last spoonful in his mouth as if to emphasize his last statement only to spit most of it back into the sink. As his brother hurriedly started to rinse out his mouth, he looked at the array of condiments and dishes on the stove top in front of him.

First things first.

Holding his left arm close to his chest, he gingerly moved the pot to the side and retrieved a new pan. It had been a while since he had needed to cook for himself. Adapting his old habits to just one (_smaller_) hand was a little tricky, but not impossible. In some ways, it was almost meditative, being able to just mindlessly chop away.

He doubted Sasuke cared very much about even cuts and presentation.

As the garlic and ginger began to sizzle, he heard Sasuke turn off the sink and join him at his side. He shot his brother a glance as he reached out for the can of sugar.

Sasuke was frowning.

Idly he wondered how his twin had survived before, but that just made him think of his other brother and he hurriedly turned his thoughts away, "Can you grab the miso?"

Silently, his brother moved away.

He wondered what had prompted his brother to start cooking. Just the other day he had seen the results of Sasuke's grocery shopping. From bruised, to over-ripe, to not even close to being the right color, he had been astonished at the sheer range of fresh produce that his brother and Naruto could manage to buy (or really find).

To be fair, the range was usually widest in the foods that needed to be cooked. Reluctantly, he made a mental note to accompany Naruto on his next grocery run.

He turned around as heard his brother move next to him with an unlabeled bottle of amber colored liquid. He frowned, "Can you open it?"

Sasuke retracted his outstretched hand and twisted open the bottle. Before he could hand over the bottle, Kazuki made a waving motion, "Sniff it."

Sasuke shot him a suspicious face, but obediently brought his head over the lip of the bottle only to jerk the bottle away.

Pouring in the peas that had been left over from his twin's attempt at cooking, Kazuki asked, "Vinegar?"

Sasuke coughed, "Yea." Before Kazuki could say another word, he recapped the bottle and stomped away, muttering curses about a certain blond.

The dish's fragrance was noticeably stronger now when Kazuki heard the fridge door open and close as Sasuke yelled out, "Where'd you learn how to cook anyway?"

"I have eyes."

He couldn't resist a small grin at Sasuke's annoyed groan. Relenting, he called back, "I watched mother cook." Technically, it was somewhat true.

Reappearing at his side, Sasuke reached over to grab the pot handle of the food he had cooked earlier, "I thought you didn't like girly stuff."

Kazuki clenched his hand briefly as he recalled how his mom, how Yoshino, had laughed at that protest.

Shrugging with one shoulder, he replied, "Say that again when you have to eat ration bars on a mission." He still remembered the face Sasuke had made after having finally convinced Itachi to split a ration bar with the two of them. He thought that might have been the last time he had heard Itachi genuinely laugh.

Stubbornly, Sasuke muttered, "Ration bars aren't so bad."

There was a dull thudding sound as Sasuke inverted the pot over the trashcan.

Languidly, Kazuki shut off the heat and replied, "Feel free to eat the ones in the left drawer."

His brother remained conspicuously silent.

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**A/N Cont:** Whooo, so yay for sketchy keyboard fixes with foam. Next chapter of TT is almost done, hoping to get it up within the week, but we'll see.

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Thanks: **PyrothTenka**, **Viridian**, **FrozenLemonade**, **Macman6453**, **lc251**, **seeker421**


	4. Nail polish

**A/N: **Whoo, one year older. That's weird to think about.

Warning for Hidan's language…totally not politically correct. I'd hope it'd be obvious that his views do not reflect my own…

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**Outtake 4  
Type: **Might have happened/crack  
**Context: **Sometime after Chapter 13: Shifting Winds

"Hell no." Why the fuck did he need to paint his nails?

His partner simply growled, "Just do it."

And why the buggering hell was he paired up with this old fart? He glared the fartbag's back for a moment before turning his gaze to the bottle of nail polish on the table when an idea struck him. Twisting his mouth upwards, he smirked vindictively. Carefully, he slid his blades under the bottle, intent on hurling the bottle straight at that asshole's head, when he heard Kakuzu mutter.

He narrowed his eyes, "What was that?"

Without looking up from his documents, the shithead answered, "I said, even the prepubescent boy whined less than you."

He felt his eye twitch involuntarily, "That brat painted his nails?!"

"You didn't notice?"

"Why the fuck would why I care about some fucking pansy brat's nails?"

He debated hurling his scythe through the back of Kakuzu's chair. He could almost _hear _the damn bastard's eye roll. Fucking retard.

"…'ke it too easy." Before he could question Kakuzu, the man continued, "That "pansy brat" is the reason why Orochimaru's gone."

"That bitch? 'Bout fucking time."

"You'll be next if you don't fucking paint your nails."

Swinging his scythe back around so that he could lean on it, Hidan leered, "Is that a threat?" _Fucking bring it!_

To his disappointment, Kakuzu merely flipped him the finger.

With a grumble, Hidan rolled back onto his heels and tipped his head back to look at the nail polish again. "_Concentrating my chakra"_ _my ass._

He flipped his scythe back over his shoulder and turned to saunter off, but before he could even reach the door, that gravelly voice spoke up again, "Paint, or don't bother coming back."

Hidan just managed to bite back a snarl. Flipping the bird right back at his partner, he stalked forwards and retrieved the polish.

_Fucking prayers and dickless priests. _Still, from what he could tell, joining the Akatsuki was still the will of Jashin.

He stared at the nail polish and frowned. Opening the bottle, he wrinkled his nose at the pungent odor. He stared at his hands.

_Fuck._

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**A/N Cont:** Hmm. originally, Itachi was going to feature more in this outtake, but Hidan just kinda took over.

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Thanks to: **Saliere, Macman6453**, **Guest, UnstableFable, PyrothTenka, hentai18ancilla, NX-Loveless-XN, 10th Squad 3rd Seat, The One Who Reads Too Much**


	5. Empty Prologues

**A/N:** I was going for understated thoughts and emotions, but I'm afraid they might be minuscule or absent. Anyway this one's dedicated to **SakuraNyaa** for the birthday wish - thanks!

Unbeta'd.

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**Outtake 5**  
**Type: **Might have happened (might get wrecked with future episodes)  
**Context:** During/before Chapter 2

Kakashi stirred at the mention of a familiar name.

"Naruto, what did I tell you to do?"

A meek voice drifted up, "To stand still?"

"So stand _still_!" The impatient voice hissed before abruptly shifting tones to cordially greet the owner of the bakery, conversing as if they were old friends.

Kakashi drew in his fingers, feeling the coarse grain of wood.

_Right._ He'd been invited to some sort of gathering, hadn't he?

With a wince, he lifted his head from where it had been lolling against the back of the bench. Bringing one hand up, he grimaced at the feel of the crumbling flakes of dried blood in his hair. _Where was Pakkun?_

He remembered acquiescing to his ninken's insistence of taking a seat, but it was somewhat blank after that.

Looking up, he watched as a middle-aged woman attended to a small herd of children flocked around her. She'd lift each child up, so that they could see the selection of pastries on the counter while chatting to the children who were pressed up against her in excitement – with one exception. At the edge of the herd, against the wall, was a small boy with a familiar shade of blond hair.

_Naruto_. It was a unique name.

He still remembered his surprise and the way Kushina had arched her eyebrow, daring him to comment.

Against his better judgment, he squinted against the early morning sun, and focused on the boy's face. Three lines stretched across each cheek, forever setting him apart from the rest, just like the rumors had reported.

Swallowing, he forced himself to look away, and tilted his head forward as he turned to look down the street. Most of the vendors were still setting up.

He wondered if his presence had been missed last night.

The cheers of the children drew his attention back. He watched as the owner of the store came back into view and started to chat happily with each child, sneaking a treat to them with a conspiratory wink whenever the other woman wasn't looking.

It was an obvious ruse, since the caretaker of the children had a clear line of sight to what was happening behind her back through the reflection of the glass displays. As the caretaker finally turned around, Kakashi recognized the woman as the prude matron of the orphanage, where he'd stayed himself back in the day, before convincing the village administration that he was plenty self-sufficient on his own.

He wondered if she remembered him.

Uneasy at the continued absence of his ninken, he shifted again. His dog was probably nearby – probably had to go relieve himself. At his next shift, he felt something dig into his spine.

Ah. Right, Jiraiya had given him that new book to read.

"NARUTO, SIT DOWN."

His head snapped up at the screech, and he watched as the boy trudged to one of the tables out on the street, away from the storefront. The child was only a few meters away now, and Kakashi could now see how the boy's shoulders quivered. The sun shone down on the boy in a particular way, as the shop's banner and overhead umbrella casted everything else in shadow.

It was the child's own little spotlight.

The excitement of the other children was muted for barely a second after the shout, before picking up again to their earlier levels.

They were used to this. Kakashi pressed his lips together as his fingers found more flakes of blood.

The boy was used to this. He flicked the flakes over his shoulders.

The child slouched, not bothering to hide the few drops that flashed in the sunlight as they fell to the ground from his face.

Kakashi shifted again.

As Sakumo's son and a prodigy of the war, he wasn't exactly a stranger to ostracism himself, and at times he almost preferred it. Still, when he had dreamed and fought for a generation that would never know war, this wasn't what he'd expected. This wasn't…

He dug the nails he'd been picking at into the flesh of his palm, and stared absently at the shadows between his fingers.

"Did you want a pastry for – "

"No, he'll be fine."

"Works for me."

A sigh of guilt?

"Actually, pass me those would you?"

"These are a bit stale."

"It'll be fine. I won't have the ANBU complaining about me again."

No, a sigh of impatience.

He watched as the matron dug into her purse with one hand while gently slapping away a girl's hand on her dress with an exasperated smile.

Coins clattered on the counter as one of the children was shoved into the woman's legs, pushing her off balance and causing her to spill the money that she'd been about to offer.

He drew his gaze back down to his fingers as he continued to eavesdrop, "Oh, these are on discount."

"Just take it," the harried woman answered, "I get a stipend for each kid here."

From his peripheral vision, he watched the bakery's owner lean forward, causing the caretaker to bend forward as well. Zeroing in on her lips, Kakashi watched as she questioned, "Even _that _one?"

The matron answered with a nod and a wry twist of her lips, "At least his is higher cuz of his… certain circumstance…"

"Still, that must be hard on you."

Kakashi breathed out through his nose and focused on getting the red out from under his fingernails. Maybe he could claim temporary insanity? No one would have trouble believing that, especially if his suspicions were right, and he really did have a concussion.

He dug out another dried speck of blood; that flake was almost black. The trick was to find the right balance of insanity for his retribution, such as creating a –

"Kakashi."

Despite himself, he startled forward, jerking lightly against the hand that had clamped down on his shoulder. He looked up in time to see Genma swing over the back of the bench, using the hand on his shoulder as a support.

He blinked a silent question at his new companion.

"Don't."

He widened his eyes.

Genma gave him a flat stare, "Stop it. I know what you were thinking."

He let his head drop and grinned to himself as he heard Genma sigh. As he slouched down further, shamelessly attempting to guilt trip Genma (because he knew the man had been a part of his sensei's guard and there was no way the man hadn't been eavesdropping like himself), he found himself _actually _pouting at the way the book dug into his spine.

He held his position for one second longer before the idea struck him. He arched his back away from the bench and reached behind with one hand to retrieve the book.

Genma was giving him a suspicious stare then turned into a fumbled wide-eyed grab for his senbon, which was accidentally spat out as the man realized what Kakashi was holding.

Noting how Genma's actions had drawn the eye of the matron and shopkeeper, Kakashi opened the cover and raised the book in front of his face.

It wasn't like he'd been completely blind as to how his presence drew attention from the civilian and shinobi populace alike. It had something to do with his mask and mystery, and he really couldn't be bothered to understand it, but he wouldn't hesitate to take advantage of it.

It was petty. It was stupid. It was totally immature.

Genma sputtered a laugh as Kakashi turned the first page.

"You know she's glaring at you now."

He responded in a mild, but distracted, voice, "Is she, now?"

Genma leaned back in a clear attempt to read over his shoulder, "Is it good porn?"

Kakashi felt heat rise to the front of his face and merely shifted his shoulder to block Genma's view with a hum.

A child's voice chirped out, "Maka-san? What does 'Icha Icha' mean?"

Genma, who had only slid himself closer to Kakakshi in response, laughed over the sound of frantic hushing, "Haha, she's blushing now. You're a horrible man."

Kakashi turned a page. Nothing he didn't already know.

More children were speaking up now, darting quick glances between the caretaker and Kakashi. Kids always had a sense for digging out those forbidden topics.

"You know, you're going to be known that now."

Kakashi hummed, "For what?"

"Reading porn."

Kakashi shrugged just as a shriek rang out. Sensing the approach of a familiar chakra signal, Kakashi lowered his book in time to see Pakkun trot up.

Something about the way his pup's wagging tail and the satisfied smile made Kakashi look back over to see the little blond kid munching furiously under the table.

He frowned, concerned, when his pug placed a paw on his shin, "Relax, she's shrieking about my piss."

Ignoring the way that Genma started choking beside him, Kakashi raised an eyebrow and tilted his head curiously, "Oh?"

More shrieks and curses were apparent now, and the caretaker was desperately trying to cover the children's ears while sending horrified looks back at the bakery. Even as she ushered the children back down the street, some of the kids were already parroting the curse words back at one another.

He watched as Minato's son scrambled out from under the table, brushing off crumbs from his face, before rushing to join the back of the line.

As the shrieking continued, Genma asked, "Where did you go?"

Pakkun was idly using his hind leg to scratch his ear, "The flour bags."

Kakashi watched the procession of children skip and hop, like little ducklings, behind the woman, "How many times?"

Pakkun sneezed before shaking his head quickly, "Several?"

The blond boy, the last in the line, did his best to skip and hum with the rest of them, ignoring the occasional side looks from the street vendors he passed. Abruptly, he stopped and looked back towards where Kakashi sat – towards Pakkun.

Kakashi glanced at Pakkun's mouth. So his pup had been sharing?

He looked up just in time to see blue eyes – sofamiliarlikethecolorofthesky- before blinking away. He looked back down to see Pakkun studying him. He had the _best_ ninken. Closing his eye, he smiled, "We should probably get going, before the owner sees us."

He heard Genma grumble an agreement. Reaching down, he bent over to retrieve Pakkun when everything went sideways.

He blinked and realized that he was suddenly leaning against Genma's side, with an arm thrown over Genma's shoulders. A hand held him at his waist.

His pup's deep, clearly unimpressed, voice drifted up, "Told you, you needed the hospital."

Genma grumbled, "Your dog has more sense then you. Come on."

As Genma prepared to help up, he flailed with his free hand at the book that had tumbled onto the ground.

"You can't be serious."

He pouted, "It was getting interesting."

He ignored Genma's grumbles ("Why'd I volunteer? Shouldn't have searched.") and waited for Genma to toss his book.

Catching it with his free hand, he tucked it away as his companion started tugging him off.

"I'm checking you into the hospital."

Dammit.

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**A/N Cont: **Genma's actions might make slightly more sense after the next chapter of TT comes out.

Kakashi seems to get a lot of flak in fanfics for not taking in Naruto, which I used to agree with, but over the course of writing TT, I get the feeling that he thought he was doing Naruto/everyone a favor by not getting involved. It's kinda like that crisis situation where you're actually better off if you get injured and there's only one person standing by than if a crowd is standing by, because the people in the crowd think that someone more qualified than themselves will step up (and obviously, that's not always the case, but it was one of those things I read for a required business course). With the way that he reflects and obsesses over things, I get the feeling that he probably wouldn't have felt qualified (or would have had a superstition about the people close to him dying).

Anyway, quick update on the TT situation. The chapter's done, basically undergoing edits. I'm a little wary of this one since it might not be the most exciting chapter; it's pretty much building the foundation for the next two arcs. So yea, just a warning. On the upside, the chapter after that gets into the start of the canon series; I'm working on the first meeting with Asuma right now... :D

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Your reviews brighten my day (and fuel my insanity for writing more chapters) :) Major thanks to: **10th Squad 3rd Seat**, **SakuraNyaa**, **PyrothTenka**, **Sethera**, **Silvanon of the Orchard**


	6. Team 7's Entrance Exam

**A/N: **I was asked to skip over Team 7 (I'm assuming that was the reviewer's intent)'s test. But since the test was kinda important to how I understand the characters, I felt like I had to write it in full before I could even attempt skimming it.

**WARNING:** THIS CHAPTER GIVES AWAY WHO'S ON TEAM 7 and contains mentions to Kazuki's team's test.

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**Outtake 6**  
**Type: **Happened  
**Context:** Chapter 15

Sakura stared at Kakashi's upraised hand with a sinking heart. Two bells.

_I'm going to tie you there and eat lunch in front of you._

There were only two bells.

If one person was being tied, that meant that they couldn't collectively hold two bells. One person would have to fail – but that couldn't be the test could it? Did they have to make sure that one person fail as opposed to everyone failing?

Maybe this was just a warm up exercise.

She darted a glance over at Sasuke and Naruto. There was no way a jounin would have miscounted.

She watched the edge of his eye wrinkle again as he closed his single exposed eye in what she suspected was an expression of amusement.

She was starting to hate that expression.

Beside her, Naruto leapt up with a loud shout, "Hah!" Before he could continue, she moved to punch him, only to be beaten by Sasuke, who had placed the blond in a headlock, cutting the boy off.

_That was close. No need to tell him, we've already ate. _

_Thank you, Kazuki. _

Still, she couldn't help but notice how Sasuke had been moving, even before Naruto had opened his mouth. He'd anticipated what the blond would do far earlier than she had.

It made her uneasy. Swallowing, she asked, "So the person that fails to get the bell is just tied to a log?"

He gave her another close-eyed grin, "And gets no lunch."

Wearily, she eyed him. Sure enough, he added, "Ah, that person also goes back to the Academy. Unless no one gets the bell, in which case, you all go." Without pause, he leaned forward, "You can use your shuriken. You won't be able to get this unless you have the will to kill me."

Ignoring his last words, Sakura stepped forward, "Back to the Academy…?"

He opened his eye to give her a blank stare, "Back to classes. Where else would you go if you fail?"

She swallowed and stepped back, and watched Sasuke dart a hand out to grab Naruto's upper arm. She watched as the blond stopped and gritted his teeth instead of rushing forward, like she had been sure he'd do.

No.

She wouldn't accept this.

She _couldn't_ accept this.

She eyed Kakashi tensely as he stood silently for a moment, studying them as if to confirm they had no further questions, before raising an arm and dropping it, "Start!"

Immediately, she whistled an old tune, before racing towards the foliage closest to the direction of the sun.

If there were only two bells, then that meant only two people could pass. If only two people could pass, then she was at a severe disadvantage.

Sasuke and Naruto almost always chose to be on the same team during team battles. Before Ino and Kiba had demanded that they start playing with different teams, the rest of them would often band together and target the two boys because they were the largest threat in their games.

It sucked and hurt her to admit, but there was no way she was going to succeed in convincing one of them to join her instead of the other.

Still, she couldn't give up. She couldn't imagine the embarrassment of being the only one in their friend group to fail. Her mind was scrambling the moment she'd confirmed that the bells were the test.

She'd only been able to think of one plan to implement.

In their mock battles, she and Ino had managed to snag a few victories by whistling intended their locations. It worked fairly well for them, until Kazuki had managed to decode their messages.

She skidded to a stop and panted.

Hopefully, Sasuke and Naruto hadn't forgotten.

Hopefully, they would come.

With a frown, she kicked the ground lightly.

_They _better_ come. _After all, she'd been the one to transcribe all the class notes and summarize lectures. She'd been the one who'd grab extras of homework sheets whenever they chose the wrong time to skip.

She cracked her knuckles, using anger to stamp down her fear.

Before she could work herself up even further, there was a short high pitched whistle to her left.

Spinning around, she turned in time to see Sasuke duck under a branch with, like she'd suspected, Naruto close behind.

Though he had a guarded expression, Sasuke spoke first, "Did you have a plan?"

Behind him, Naruto was grumbling at the floor.

Sakura hid a smile. There was no doubt in her mind that Sasuke had stopped the blond from complaining about the test to their supposed new sensei.

She nodded, "We trick him so that he has to pass all of us."

Sasuke jumped as Naruto jabbed a finger into his ribs, "I vote for that plan."

Scowling, the Uchiha turned his attention back to her, "And how do you intend to do that? He said he was only passing two of us."

She resisted the urge to swallow. This was where the bluff and her gamble began, "He said that only a third of the graduates pass the test. Why would he only pass two, as opposed to just one? The numbers don't work out."

Unconvinced, Sasuke countered, "The other instructors might be only passing one student. We all know our grades were higher than the class average, so he might have to pass two."

Thinking quickly, she replied, "Ino and them had to work together-"

"I doubt their teacher knew that Naruto was going to help out. He could have expected one of them to drop out – and they haven't passed _yet_."

Pressing her lips together at being cut off, Sakura fumed, "There was no way Ino would let either of them quit." As a thought struck her, Sakura continued, "Besides, what if they _were_ right and it is a team test. What if collecting tokens was their test and not getting frustrated enough to quit was their main challenge?" Seeing Sasuke open his mouth, she pressed on, "What if this is _our_ test to see if we can function as a team?"

Desperately, she continued, "He never said that the two who got the bells would pass. He never said that whoever failed had to _stay_ at the Academy. He…"

Realizing that she'd run out of things to say, she paused awkwardly. It was a little far-fetched, but still, even as she spoke them, she realized that they weren't exactly false. Anxiously, she waited.

Sasuke opened his mouth again only to grunt as Naruto elbowed him in the side, "What's the plan, Sakura-chan?"

Hesitant, she glanced at Sasuke, who eyed her suspiciously, but remained silent. Looking back at Naruto, she couldn't help but grin, "Can your clones henge themselves into bells?"

-0-

This wasn't going to work.

Crouched in the underbrush, Sasuke studied the loose manner in which Kakashi held himself.

This was _not _going to work.

The only reason he was going along with this was because it was a good plan – and because he hadn't been able to spot how the plan might be used against either him or Naruto.

Not that he thought Sakura was capable of backstabbing them.

(Of course, he didn't really think Sakura could backstab them for the same reason that he was willing to take a gamble on her theory. He didn't really want her to fail either, especially not if he had to deal with the fallout.

Naruto would nag incessantly.)

-0-

Kakashi stared at the suddenly empty clearing and noted with some surprise at the way the three chakra signatures had dimmed.

It was pretty impressive for Academy students – genin even.

Looking to his left and right, he shrugged and took out his reading. He had a good feeling about this team, though he'd have to make sure to teach them a little more about the art of subtlety.

He hoped the girl's whistle was for all her teammates. It'd be interesting to see what they made of his instructions.

He had been reading for roughly two hours when he sensed the first attack and substituted himself with a log. Crouched on the tree branch overhead, he watched the relentless attack of projectiles towards his old position.

_Hmm. Good aim, but bad use of resources. _The overabundance of weapons used screamed of overkill. Still, tracing the weapons back to the point from which they originated, the boy _had _managed to hide his position, especially since it looked like the weapons had been thrown from the bush directly across the clearing when the boy's chakra signature indicated that Sasuke was in fact positioned to his left.

He narrowed his eyes and noted the slight flickering light in the bush. _Chakra strings?_ They looked more like chakra ropes – uneven chakra ropes. Still, that wasn't a skill most genin, let alone Academy students, knew.

The boy hadn't moved. Did the kid assume he'd attack the bush?

Curious, he eyed the boy and flared his signature just so.

Immediately, the boy swung around to face him. Dark eyes widened in surprise, but the boy didn't hesitate in whipping forward more kunai.

_Adaptive_. He absently noted the direction of the kunai's flight path. Was the Uchiha trying to herd him?

Curious, he jumped forward and engaged the boy midair in taijutsu. Forward-block, back slash, sidekick, roundhouse - when was the kid going to activate those explosive tags on the ku–_oh_.

As the clearing shook with the force of the explosions, Kakashi jumped forward right into the path of a giant fireball.

Pulling another substitution, he admired the size of the flame and the heat that he could feel even from where he was crouched.

The kid was quick. He'd give him that. But if the kid's friends weren't going to come and play, he supposed he'd have to start coaxing them over.

Turning, he raised his kunai in time to block the downward strike of Sasuke's kunai before twisting his hip so that the bells slid out of the boy's grasp.

With some interest, he noticed the approaching chakra signatures of Naruto. The Academy instructor had mentioned that he'd taught the boy the shadow clone.

The question was, had the instructor spent any time teaching the boy on how to _use _it?

This time, he twisted faster and kicked back, sending the Uchiha flying back into the bushes.

_And exit._

"Sasuke! You're going to pay for that!"

Yes, the art of subtlety was lost on these little kiddies. He raised his head to see a crowd of orange-jumpsuit-wearing blonds hurtling down at him from the air. Somewhat amused, he feigned an expression of horrified surprise and allowed himself to be tugged and grabbed, making sure to keep the side of him with the bells free.

It almost reminded him of a litter of wriggling puppies.

As the clear original lunged at him with a punch, he felt hands digging into his flak jacket pockets – and was that a hand at his waistband?

With a barely hidden chuckle, he substituted himself again and watched as Naruto flipped right before he was about to hit his clone.

With an enraged yell, the original stood back to back with his clone and pointed out into the air, "KIBA ALREADY PULLED THAT ONE, YOU JERRRRRKKKKK!"

Checking his pockets, he was surprised to find another bell in his pocket. It tinkled lightly in his hand right before the clones swung around as one in the ground below.

"GET HIIIMMMM!"

With an actual laugh this time, he skipped off the branch. Holding up the bell between two fingers, he questioned at the charging horde, "What is this?"

Curious to see if he could enrage the blond further, he pretended to be absorbed with examining the bell in his hand as he ducked and blocked the boy's hits.

The detail on it was extraordinary. In fact, very close to the one that he had on his hips.

At the feeling of chakra being gathered in a circle that surrounded him just beyond the mass of clones, he finally looked up. Throwing one clone into another, he jumped on a third and leapt just as the spot he occupied was inundated with water.

Well at least the blond had good teamwork with his clones, which was actually really surprising. Still, he hadn't noticed any collaboration between his three students, which made him wonder what exactly they had been planning while he had been reading.

Landing on the surface of the water, he coasted down with the wave and held the bell up to the sun.

Perhaps the bell was their collaboration? If Sasuke had been sent to distract him, the girl could have guided Naruto's transformation. Because the reports on Sakura had mentioned her eye for detail, but only Naruto could have held the henge for so long.

Maybe his students were hard of hearing, or had he misspoken. He had told them to _take_ his bells right?

As he thought, he bent over to avoid another lunge from the blond. This time, however, it seemed that the boy had gotten frustrated. Instead of another charging attack, Naruto decided to start throwing mud.

"STOP LOOKING AT THE BELL DAMMIT."

Hah. They were so easy to rile. He twirled and hopped, and made the most ridiculous poses he could think of while gazing at the bell and avoiding the mud that was being slung about. Each time he dodged, the blond turned redder and redder.

_Hmm. Tenzo would call this bullying, wouldn't he? _

Ah well. By his estimation, they had another half hour for the test. He'd need to stop playing around and assess the girl's abilities soon.

As if his thoughts had summoned her, she staggered out of the bushes and lunged toward him with Naruto. With her addition, the boy stopped slinging mud and reattempted to punch him.

He frowned as he batted another hand away from the bells. At least they finally remembered what the goal of the test was.

However, he frowned as the girl leapt up and grabbed his hand to use as a lever to kick out at his face. The flaps of her dress blew out to the side as she twisted in the air when her first kick failed to kick out with her other leg.

Reaching out he grabbed her by the ankle and used her as a battering ram, dispersing several of the surrounding clones until there were only three copies of Naruto left, eyeing him warily.

To her credit, she'd managed to cross her arms in time to form a defensive block, and was eyeing him with a glare as well.

Raising his arm, he brought her closer into striking distance and looked down, "You make a very nice girl, Sasuke."

With a scowl, the girl held up the sign for release, and yelled, "Now!"

As he dropped Sasuke, he felt the boy kick out toward his side just as he side-kicked the stomach of the closest charging blond.

He felt a tug on his waistband, right before he dropped to the ground and swept the boys aside with a spinning kick.

The alarm rang.

_Already?_

"WE PASSED, ALRIGHT!"

With a frown, he looked up to see a mud spattered Naruto stand up, holding a bell. Glancing down, he checked his side, only to find two more sets of bells hanging from his waist.

So this is what they were going to try? He was disappointed, "So Sakura, fails?"

Naruto squinted up at him, "What? Whyyy? She has a bell too!" He pointed with a pout. He followed the boy's finger to see the girl in question duck under a branch and approach, holding up a bell.

He looked back at the boy. Curious. "So, Sasuke fails."

"I have a bell."

He looked to his left. Sitting in mud was the Uchiha, holding a bell up as well.

He raised an eyebrow as the girl stepped next to Naruto. She looked nervous. The edge of her dress was torn. So they had used actual thread?

"I had two bells."

Naruto frowned and held out his bell pointedly, "How do you know this one isn't it?"

So they were going to bluff him? He detached the set of bells that hadn't moved from the start of the test and held them up by the thread, "Should we compare?"

There was a brief glance at Sakura from both boys, before Sasuke stood up and held his bell out for inspection. Quicky, Naruto and Sakura stepped forward as well until the three of them held out their bells in a semicircle formed by their outstretched hands.

Closing his hands around the bells, Kakashi leaned forward, "If there's a difference, then that means that you all fail. You understand that right?"

They nodded.

Well, at least they were committed. He held his hand out, closing the circle.

To be fair, if he didn't use his sharingan, he would bet that the bells were identical to the original – which was impressive. There was even a light coat of chakra on the original bells, which he suspected was the girl's work.

Still, they wouldn't be able to bluff their way out of any mission without meeting the mission goal. He'd have to do some careful spinning in his report if he wanted to pass this set of students without being questioned on his decision.

Looking at their steady gazes, he had to say, he liked their guts.

However, he couldn't let them grow too overconfident in their bluffing skills. With a low hum, he pointed, "I think there's a slight difference."

Sasuke's hand snaked out, right before Naruto's. "Hey Sasuke, lemme see! Where's the difference?"

To his surprise, Sakura looked relieved rather than more concerned.

Naruto had pried Sasuke's hands open, "Where? There's no difference!" The boy turned around and pointed, "You liar!"

Tilting his head to the side, he noted the shadow cast on the ground. So that was their plan? Maybe he had underestimated them.

He looked steadily at Naruto, "Getting the bells now is a little too late wouldn't you say?"

Both boys looked startled and darted quick glances at the girl.

Smiling sheepishly, she dug the clock out from her pack and tossed it at Kakashi, "We changed the alarm."

There were still five minutes left on the clock.

He gazed back up at her, "You could have changed the time as well."

She shrank back.

He stared for a moment, letting the tension build before leaning back, "Buuut, I'll take your word for it." He pointed to the sky, "Your shadows aren't directly beneath you guys just yet."

Naruto blurted out, "You knew?!" The extra bells at his side disappeared with small poofs, leaving just red threads dangling in the wind.

Kakashi scratched his chin. It was a pretty impressive plan, "Maybe."

The Uchiha frowned and held out the bells to Sakura, who hurriedly accepted it with a wide eyed look, "Why'd you let us take the bells?

"I wanted to see who you guys would pick to fail."

Naruto immediately leapt up to protest, while Sakura looked at the ground. However Sasuke's next words had them both looking at him in surprise, "Why should anyone fail?"

Kakashi tilted his head to the side, "Didn't you two get the bells?"

The boy pointed at the girl, "She'd held the bells as well. You never said that we had to hold onto the bell to pass, just that we had to get it."

The boy stared defiantly up at him. Naruto quickly stepped next to Sasuke with a sharp "Yeah!"

Biting her lip, Sakura stepped forward as well, "If you could choose between failing just one and all of us, couldn't you also _not fail_ any of us? You said 66% of Academy graduates fail, but that doesn't mean that one of us _has_ to fail right?"

Kakashi scratched his chin. They were all scared but determined. Speaking slowly, he let the suspense build, "You all…."

He watched as they collectively held their breaths. It was almost a scary thought in some ways, because here he was, ready for a team of his own, but he _liked_ them.

"…PASS!"

* * *

**A/N Cont:** Yea, he'd probably do some more discussion about the test and everyone's decisions, but I didn't feel like writing it.

Haha, I know Kakashi seems to have been reading the Icha Icha book for a crazy long time, but he seemed to read the same book during Team 7's test and in the filler episode where he helps out Iruka during Naruto's Academy years. My head canon is that he rereads the stories partially for the porn but also for Jiraiya's hidden insights on life - like I feel like Jiraiya based some of the plotlines on his past missions and junk.

I also wouldn't be surprised if Kakashi was just pretending to read the books just to get a reaction out of people.

**Conception Notes on Sakura:  
**So in canon, Sakura seemed to just go along with what people said, and during the original test, I feel like she was waiting to see what the boys would do. Moreover, I feel like she was less aggressive in her training because she knew that she was at least 'better' than Naruto.

In canon, we really only see her start to doubt herself after the Wave Mission, especially after Sasuke says that 'even Naruto's better than you' or something like that.

In the TTverse, I figure she's somewhat more insecure because of her civilian background and because she knows from the onset that she's the 'weakest' (at least in terms of physical stamina and whoo! team dynamic changes for the win :D... maybe). Anyway, headcanon is that having to deal with truants for friends (who want her class notes) means that she started to lose her patience more and more. Between Kiba and Naruto, and dealing with Kazuki's laziness, she's just not as concerned about her 'womanly' image (at least in terms of manners). I think she still has a 'crush'/strong admiration for Sasuke (from canon), but it's kinda 'uncool' for her to admit it after listening to Kiba and Naruto make fun of Sasuke's fan club. If that makes any sense.

**Updates on TT: **Chapter 15 should be up in a day or so. Still discussing some decisions with my awesomely awesome beta. In the mean time, I'm working on chapter 16, so any suggestions/requests for interactions would be greatly appreciated - especially for inspiration.

* * *

**Crazy Thanks to: Silvanon of the Orchard, 10th Squad 3rd Seat, The One Who Reads Too Much, PyrothTenka, MeLikesROFL, Elise **(Aww thanks, glad you find them to be so.)**, Sethera**


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